White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer apologized for saying Adolf Hitler didn’t resort to using chemical weapons like Syria’s president, after an outpouring of criticism from politicians and Jewish groups on Tuesday, including calls for his removal from his position.

Israel is no longer taking a public position on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s prospects of staying in power, its defense minister said on Tuesday, citing the opposing goals of the United States and Russia as they intervene in the civil war.

Fighting between Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces and the opposition has reached a stalemate, and the regime plans on calling for a ceasefire at an upcoming conference in Geneva, Syria’s deputy prime minister has told the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper.